Americans are paying more at the pump as Trump doubles down on his war of choice with Iran

According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline jumped one dollar in just one month, with prices today sitting at $3.98 per gallon. Diesel prices have also reached record highs, with one gallon costing $5.38, the second time in history diesel prices have topped $5.00. As of last week, Americans are spending about $575 million more every day on gas and diesel than they were a month ago. The price hike over the last month was the largest four-week increase in gas prices on record. 

Americans were already struggling to make ends meet amid soaring prices and disappearing jobs, and now they’re paying even more at the pump. In January, core PCE inflation increased 3.1% year-over-year, and half of all Americans with a credit card and over 40% of adults are unable to pay off their credit card bills each month, as total credit card debt reached an all-time high. Meanwhile, hiring remains at its weakest level in more than a decade, and 72% of workers believe it is a bad time to find a quality job.  

In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and JD Vance’s economy is in shambles amid sky-high prices and a tumultuous job market, and now Americans are paying record-high prices for gas as Trump doubles down on his reckless war with Iran. Instead of acting to lower prices and create jobs, Trump has declared he was ‘right about everything’ and wants Americans to be thankful for gas prices not going even higher. Working families can’t afford to shell out even more money to get by in Trump’s economy, and they don’t want to foot the bill of an unpopular war that puts American lives at risk.”   

Trump’s deadly and costly war with Iran has already killed 13 U.S. service members and injured approximately 290, and the Pentagon is now asking American taxpayers to pay another $200 billion to fund it. 

Every major poll confirms that Americans largely disapprove of Trump’s war of choice with Iran. Nearly half of Americans say they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas, and most Americans say the attacks in Iran have “gone too far.” Meanwhile, this week, Trump said that “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth was “quite disappointed” to hear that the war could be ending, while Trump continues to offer conflicting timelines on the war ending.